Autumn Skies and Blue Eyes
by ReachingSteiner
Summary: Most people see Annie Leonhardt as cold, quiet, and rather frightening… but when Eren Jaeger looks into those blue eyes of hers, he sees a world far beyond what anyone would expect. Modern AU, rated T for some language.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was not every day one found oneself standing outside of a warm-smelling burger place tucked away in a small corner of a small shopping center in a rather large city. Yet, as the autumn-colored rays of sunshine spilled over the horizon and a cool breeze ruffled his chocolate bangs, Eren Jaeger found himself doing just that.

And also trying not to be a nervous git.

He exhaled loudly, leaning back against a pillar and absentmindedly hoping that the flaking paint wouldn't rub off onto his jacket. His hands were jammed into his pockets, and his foot braced against the pillar. The early sunset sky was always a fond sight for Eren. It reminded him of days spent playing outside with Mikasa as kids, begging first his parents and then Mikasa's to let them have just ten more minutes. It reminded him of outside barbecues and cicadas starting to hum in a symphony, sans-conductor. And it reminded him of the day he had met Annie Leonhardt, the day she offered to teach him how to fight and, despite every instinct in his body telling him that getting thrown on his ass day after day wouldn't be worth it, he'd agreed. Because of the smile that he'd never seen before on her lips, and the hopeful look he'd never seen before in those cerulean eyes…

Ok, so he's not a damn poet.

Eren pulled back a sleeve and checked his watch, wondering when she'd get here.

X

Annie Leonhardt turned a corner, walking purposefully down the sidewalk and cursing her just-too-short bangs for not staying tucked behind her ear. She shivered slightly; despite wearing her standard long-sleeve hoodie, and the temperature outside hardly qualifying as cold, she still found herself wishing she could warm herself by a fire. Or even a dusty air vent. At this point, she wasn't picky.

Why had she ever agreed to this?

Annie sighed, almost able to imagine that she could see her breath in the air. Which wasn't true. She just wanted an excuse for being this cold.

It had happened yesterday, after her and Eren's regular sparring match after school. Since the day that she had offered to teach him about fighting, they practiced for an hour or so behind the main building every day. No one else was there; the few kids who were still at school by that time were probably out by the track or inside for some nerdy club.

After crashing to the ground for the fourth-or-so time, Eren had sat up and said, "Either my spine is really well built, or it's already destroyed, and I haven't realized it yet."

Annie snorted, unsmiling. She massaged her left shoulder, where Eren had actually managed to land a clean hit. Unfortunately for him, his surprise at her gasp of pain had given her the opening she needed to flip him to the ground. Again.

She walked over to and extended her uninjured arm. "We should end it here for today. Wouldn't want to injure your fragile spine again."

Eren looked at her for a moment, slightly surprised. He wasn't used to her offering to help him up—usually she just tucked her bangs behind her ear, unsuccessfully, as he pulled himself out of the dust.

"Is that sarcasm?" he said, taking her hand.

She didn't smile, but her lips might have shifted slightly. "Maybe," she replied, pulling him to his feet. She walked over to grab her bag off of the ground as Eren hefted his onto his shoulder, staring at the back of her head.

"Hey, um…" he started, as she paused and turned to look at him.

"What?" she questioned, wincing as the weight of the bag pulled on her hurt shoulder."

"…nothing," Eren said, turning to leave. "See you on Mon—"

"Spill it, Jaeger," Annie sighed. "It's obviously something, your face is easier to read than a damn kid's book."

Eren spun around, feeling his face heat up. "Um, I…" He scratched the back of his head, not meeting her eyes. "There's a new burger place that opened up in the shopping center not far from here, and… I was wondering if you might want to get something to eat there tomorrow?" he finished, finally looking at her.

Annie still didn't know why she'd agreed. Maybe… maybe it was for the same reason he'd agreed to practice with her, so many weeks ago. Maybe it was because when she looked into those emerald eyes and saw a world of hope behind them, she was intrigued. Maybe she was drawn in by that sheepish smile, which still somehow looked cute despite the healing cut on the bottom lip from last week.

Wait… cute?

Annie rolled her eyes at herself as she arrived at the shopping center. It was filled with parked cars and people carrying bags from the grocery store—people getting dinner for their family on the way home from work, no doubt. The burger place was not hard to spot, as there was a large "NOW OPEN!" banner out front. Even across the parking lot from the place, she could already smell the scent of cooking meat drowning out the faint odor of motor oil from the cars. It smelled surprisingly nice, considering she'd never had a burger in her life.

Ok. Now to find the suicidal bastard.

X

Author's Note: Well! This is my first fanfiction that I'm going to upload, ever, which I hope turns out to be as awesome as I hope it'll be. By all means, please review and critique, I'm very open to opinions and pointers. Keep an eye out for Chapter 2 soon!

-Steiner


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Eren ran a hand through his hair, glancing around the parking lot for the familiar petite blonde. He was still five minutes early from the time they'd agreed on, even after waiting outside the restaurant for at least twenty minutes (y'know… just in case), but after standing still for so long, he was getting a bit restless. He caught himself checking his watch again, even though he'd just looked at it ten seconds ago.

There was a sudden buzz in his pocket. Eren pulled his phone out, reflexively flicking it open with his thumb.

It was a text from Armin. _See her yet? _

Eren quickly typed back, _Nope._

A moment passed. _She'll be there soon._

Eren smiled at Armin's natural optimism. _I know. I'll text you when we're in._

_ Have fun, you crazy kids!_

Eren rolled his eyes good-naturedly, sticking his phone back in his pocket. Somehow, Armin always had impeccable timing with his helpful texts—

"Having fun?"

Eren jumped, halfway to an instinctual defensive stance when he realized that the voice had come from Annie Leonhardt herself.

"Annie!" Eren exclaimed. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, both from the sudden surprise, and the fact that Annie Goddamn Leonhardt was standing right here in front of him, close enough that he could smell the lemon scent of her hair and—

Annie sighed. "Hopeless."

Eren looked at her confusedly, his arms falling back to his sides. "What?"

"Your stance," Annie deadpanned. "It's a complete train wreck." She grabbed his wrists and forced them back up, until they were level with his face. She circled around him, observing all of the flaws of his posture, almost like an unimpressed drill instructor. "Your arms are too low. Keep them high, unless you want an invitation for your opponent to punch your teeth out. Spread your elbows," she instructed, kicking the back of his knees, "and bend your legs."

Eren could feel his face getting slightly red. "It was just reflexive, I wasn't trying to make an actual stance—"

Annie glared at him. "It should be second nature to you. Seeing as getting thrown on your ass comes easily enough to you, I'd hope that at least some of what I've taught you got through your thick skull."

Eren grinned. "Honestly, sensei, I think I've learned more than you might believe. Can I put my arms down now?"

Annie sighed again, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "Fine."

Eren relaxed his stance, running a hand through his hair. "So… shall we go?"

"Well, unless you want them to serve us outside…" she paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Pupil."

Eren's grin spread from ear to ear as he held the door open for Annie Leonhardt.

X

As they walked into the restaurant, both Eren and Annie were surprised by how unexpectedly nice the place seemed. It was larger than it appeared from the outside, with wood-paneled walls covered by red leather booths, and the tiled floor obscured by a maze of zigzagging tables. TVs were suspended around the place, each on a different channel. The menu was displayed on a screen embedded in the wall, which a short line of people waited beside to place their order at the counter. It wasn't very crowded, as most of the tables were empty, which relieved some of Eren's anxiety; they would at least be able to talk without raising their voices over other conversations.

They meandered around the tables over to the line. Annie crossed her arms and leaned against the rail as Eren stood next to her, reading over the menu. It looked pretty good, he thought, and he silently congratulated himself for choosing to eat at a place that was appearing better and better by the second. Another horrible scenario he'd worried might have happened crossed off the list.

"Know what you want?" he said to Annie, glancing over at the shorter girl.

She brushed a loose strand of hair back, not looking at him. "No. I've… never had a burger before."

Eren looked at her, surprise lighting up his face. "Really?"

"Yeah, so I'll just get what you get."

Eren looked back at the menu, processing what he'd just heard. Then, he chuckled to himself.

Annie turned to glare at him. "What?"

"I just figured, if I were a prick like Jean, I'd get something disgusting to make you suffer. Which I wouldn't do, by the way," he said with a grin, raising his hands in surrender.

Annie's eyes sparkled humorously. "If you were Jean, you'd be here with Marco, not me."

Eren laughed, not noticing the slight smirk that was on Annie's face for an instant.

"So…" he said after a moment of quiet, "you've _never _had a hamburger?"

"No."

"Not even once?"

"What part of 'never' escapes your understanding, Jaeger?"

Eren smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'm just curious as to why. You're not a vegetarian, or you wouldn't be in a burger place to begin with, so…"

Annie sighed. She opened her mouth to answer the question, but right as she did, the person in front of them in line finished their order.

"We're up," she said, walking over to the cashier, a very curious Eren in tow.

X

They placed their orders, Eren paying with a twenty and receiving his change and a small white tab printed with their table number.

"Where do you want to sit?" he asked.

"I don't care, you pick—"Annie started, before realizing that he'd walked over to the drink counter to grab cups. She rolled her eyes, finding and sitting in a booth along the center of the wall.

After she had sat silently for a moment, Eren slid into the seat opposite her, placing two cups of water on the table. Annie raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"For the milkshakes," he explained, placing the small tab into a metal stand near the end of the table. "You'll probably be thirsty."

Annie took one of the cups. "Well," she said, averting her eyes as she took a sip. "Aren't you thoughtful."

Eren grinned, that same stupid goofy grin that he gave her every time he managed to pull off a move correctly in their practice after school.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Eren quietly tapping his foot under the table to the music playing softly from the speakers above. He kept trying to think of something to say to her, but it always sounded stupid in his head. He mentally berated himself; he was normally great at small talk, but every time he glanced at Annie's cobalt eyes, his mind was completely derailed. Seriously, what the hell was _wrong _with him? And why couldn't he—

Suddenly, a very familiar tune started playing on the speakers, and Eren's eyes widened excitedly.

"Oh, I love this song!" he said, grinning at Annie, who looked at him as she sipped her water.

"I didn't take you for the music-lover type."

"Yeah, I'm a huge Rod Stewart fan."

Annie arched an eyebrow. "Who?"

"He's the guy who does this song," Eren replied, gesturing towards the speaker. "You've never heard of him?"

She glanced away. "Can't say that I have."

"Oh. Do you listen to much music?"

Annie was about to respond, before a girl walked up to the table, carrying their order single-handedly on a large platter.

"Here you guys go!" she said, carefully setting each plate down with her free hand. She brushed her charcoal pigtail over her shoulder, and Annie caught a glimpse of her nametag—Mina, it looked like. Or Mila. Who gives a shit, she thought.

"Can I get you guys anything else?" she said, smiling brightly at the pair.

Eren glanced at Annie, who shrugged. "…I don't think so, thanks," he said politely to their bubbly waitress.

The girl—Mina—giggled, and leaned down to whisper to Annie. "Your boyfriend's cute," she said secretively.

Annie nearly choked on her water.

X

Author's Notes:Yes, Eren has a flip phone. Huge thanks to my impeccable beta reader, DPraven, for putting up with a ship she doesn't ship, and to all of you guys who've read, favorited, followed, or reviewed this story! It really makes my day, and I hope you'll let me know what you thought of this chapter :) Happy belated St. Patrick's Day!

-Steiner


End file.
